I don't think you can make that claim Erdos. Tolkien wrote a book that wasn't even published and recognized by the public until the 50's, and still people knew about fantasy before him, he isn't as influential as you think. Sure he wrote a good book for that day in age, but lots of people wrote good fantasy books back then just like Tolkien:
More then human by Theodore Sturgen
To your scattered bodies go by Philip Jose Farmer
The voices of time buy J.G. Ballard.
The jewel-hinged jaw by Samuel Delany.
These are all science fiction and included things like mutations and odd creatures just like elves, dwarves and different races in Tolkiens book which was influential in the success of the fantasy genre nowadays but isn't the main factor in it, it succeeded because of our generation and our need to satiate our imaginations with something and this was it.
-Delerak
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